Package: Stepping into the next generation of gaming, the
latest Call of Duty brings to the table a story with a fresh taste in warfare,
multiplayer we've all come to know and love, and two new unique game modes

Fun Factor: You won't find much boredom here as all aspects
of Ghosts offer enjoyable playtime

Gameplay: While this installment surprisingly contains
slight changes to the controls (aim with L2 and shoot with R2 instead of with
L1 and R1, plus a few other minor changes), Ghosts sustains the healthy, iconic
formula from the past seven years

Graphics and Art: This is undeniably the best looking Call
of Duty featuring staggering amounts of remarkable detail all the way from your
weapon to the striking environments

Music and Sound: All corners of the game sound just fine,
including good voice acting and one of the best Call of Duty scores to date

Replay Value: Ghosts is a game you can sit down and play any
and every day, for sure

Game-Changer Status: Even though Call of Duty: Ghosts is not
a revolutionary title, it paves way for a neat and interesting direction for
the series and is an entirely entertaining as well as memorable approach as it ushers
Call of Duty into the next generation of video games

With the recently concluded Modern Warfare saga under their
belts, it was finally time for Infinity Ward to shift to a new beginning with
the reigning king of shooters. The possibilities were endless and the result
could have been an extraordinary or by the books shooter. The answer to that
risky call is Call of Duty: Ghosts, the latest chapter in the series, which
falls somewhere in-between those two states of being. Introducing a whole new
atmosphere the franchise has yet seen before, Ghosts presents a bold venture,
while also keeping in line with what Call of Duty has come to be known for. The
inclusion of the expected campaign and online multiplayer are in addition
accompanied by two novel, while maybe not purely original, welcomed modes. Put
your masks on, and this is what you can look forward to from the most up to
date stamp in this household name.

The strongest part of Call of Duty: Ghosts is also my
favorite part about the game; that being the single-player campaign. Starting
off with an incredible bang, Ghosts is filled with one thrilling mission after
another. Taking control of, once again, another non-speaking soldier, you are
thrust into a not only damaged, but somewhat post-apocalyptic world ravaged by
a conglomerate of national forces called the Federation (a nice departure from
the overused Russian enemy-type obsession). However, this isn't another
military shooter focused on how many rounds you shoot or all the noise you can
make. As the name suggests, Call of Duty: Ghosts is more attracted to the
shadier side of things than to the spotlight due to its overall clandestine
tone and plot.

Eventually assuming the role of what they call a "Ghost", a
guise who place their preferred home in the shadows, you become a fellow member
of an elite squad of other Ghosts, participating in enthralling stealth-inspired
missions as well as the occasional explosive mission; each one starting out
with the coolest assignment debriefings the series has ever been given. As you
progress through the good, while not at all flawless story, you are exposed to
a variety of tasks in sophisticated levels, and get entangled in a narrative
that treads foreign, though refreshing territory in contrast to Ghosts'
predecessors. I found satisfaction in the mild accent on family (your character
has a brother and father) in Call of Duty: Ghosts, even if that sounds like a strange
idea for a Call of Duty game to touch on, and thought while a bulk of the
characters, counting the main antagonist, were mediocre in execution, the
relationships between them were done well (you are also accompanied by a dog
companion named Riley in a few missions who adds to this aspect of the game).
It's disappointing the campaign only clocks in around five to six hours because
the story and these characters could have been fleshed out further to bring
forth a more coherent tale in all respects. Nevertheless, Ghosts is one ride
you will never forget.

The individual missions are, in short, quite spectacular.
Definitely the most consistently action-packed Call of Duty campaign since
possibly Modern Warfare 2, Ghosts is intense and exciting from the superb start
to the gratifying finish (you absolutely will be contemplating the conclusion
while the credits roll). Every mission through and through is submerged in
awesome set-piece moments and I relished greatly in all the offerings. Ghosts
is speckled with unforgettable, distinguishing instances. One moment you are
hastily trying to avoid being engulfed in an encompassing city-wide flood while
in another mission you may find yourself literally fighting in space. You can
even take control of Riley, your dog companion, a couple of times to take down
or sneak past guards. These are just a very small number of examples that make
Call of Duty: Ghosts stand out from previous entries in the franchise in
meaningful ways (which is wonderful to see considering a Call of Duty game
comes out every year). Ghosts' campaign flows, while almost too speedily, without
breaking a sweat establishing itself as one of the most enjoyable single-player
experiences the franchise has produced.

Now picture the whole campaign, counting these examples, all
beautifully rendered in highly impressive graphical quality, and you can't help
but gawk. Ghosts truly is the best-looking Call of Duty gamer ever hands down
and could even be considered as one of the best-looking games you'll see on the
market. If you catch yourself trying to stifle blazing through a particular
mission to take in the game's entire luxurious digital world, you'd be
forgiven; I confess I did this all too often. Although the way the game looks
was to be expected because of Ghosts releasing on next generation consoles, you
don't really appreciate it unless it's right there in front of you. What's
more, this power carries on over to the online multiplayer and other two game
modes, Squads and Extinction.

For the last several years, Call of Duty's online
multiplayer could largely be considered as almost perfect in every facet: outstanding
modes, superb maps, fast matchmaking, brilliant weapons, terrific customization
options, and so on. Whereas Ghosts retains all of these, it unfortunately does
not comprise or push anything quite innovative on the surface. Generally,
everything you find present is what you would ultimately want from the
multiplayer experience Call of Duty has. Ghosts does have a handful of new game
mode types like Heavy Duty, Blitz, and Cranked that contain different rules and
objectives that are absent from past games, and Ghosts furthermore provides
added customizable options for your perks and soldier(s) that tend to offer you
new, but sometimes unrecognizable embellishments to the main experience. There
are also minuscule alterations to the killstreak system (one is you can now
have a killstreak guard dog buddy at your side to watch your back) that reuses
the one introduced in Modern Warfare 3; Assault, Support, and Strike packages.
All in all, though, Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer is lovely. The maps still
resemble first-rate level design, and it's always rewarding looking for ways to
approach a match and the opposing team. You won't come across anything too
ambitious in regards to the Ghosts multiplayer component, but when a mode is
near perfection, there's nothing to complain about.

Squads interrelates to the online multiplayer by letting you
gain the same XP, use the same weapons, and even allowing you to make good use
out of the other character soldier classes accessible (there are ten in total)
to use in multiplayer matches. These character soldier classes are vastly
customizable as you can, when made available to you through completing
different challenges, change the name, appearance, and loadout of the soldier.
The intent behind Squads is nothing complicated. Choose your soldier and
compete against either other players (squads) around the world or bots in different
game modes with your AI controlled squad, unless you're playing with a friend
who can take control of another squad mate. The game modes you play in Squads
are not completely special (one is a wave after wave type mode), but they do
propose a minor change of pace and style from the regular multiplayer in
Ghosts. It's good fun and it's something I see myself always coming back to.

If you loved Treyarch's Zombies modes, you're going to be
heading over to Extinction pretty quickly. In this Extinction mode, alien
creatures are now trying to occupy and dominate the planet. You are a part of a
four man team whose jobs are to annihilate this enemy. The goal is to use a
given drill to decimate these alien hives on the ground, and while it's doing
its job, defend the drill and your life by taking out the aliens. It requires
the same type of teamwork involved in Treyarch's classic game mode and can lead
to frantic shootouts against the evil alien forces. Weapons lay around the map
to be bought by points you acquire through killing the creatures, and these
same points can be used to unlock in-game upgrades and equipment to further
help you and your teammates against the waves of enemies. Extinction presents
itself as an addictive, teamwork based mode, which it wholly accomplishes. I am
a huge Nazi Zombies fan, so for this kind of mode to be incorporated into
Ghosts is just great. It's a commendable angle, and one fully pleasing to me.

When the first Modern Warfare released last generation, it
pioneered a revolutionary outlook on the first-person shooter. Ghosts is not
Modern Warfare reincarnated by no means, but it is a refreshing, significant
installment in the series. The campaign is exceptional, the multiplayer robust,
and the modes, Squads and Extinction, grant a little something for everybody. I
am constantly impressed and held in check by this yearly franchise that could
simply be recycling old techniques with a different name subtitle, though
instead continues to thrive for the better. Call of Duty: Ghosts may adhere to
the dark corners, but after I played it, all I wanted to do was shine the
brightest light on this memorable title for the whole world to see.